Becker Township, Sherburne County, Minnesota

Becker is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, between the Mississippi and Elk Rivers. The population was 4,877 at the 2020 census.Becker is located 46 miles northwest of Minneapolis and 19 miles southeast of St. Cloud. U.S. Highway 10 serves as a main route in Becker. The city is home to the Sherburne County Generating Station (Sherco) which accounted for 77% of the city's tax base in 2019 and two thirds of taxes generated for the city in 2023. Homeowners have considerable lower property taxes than surrounding communities due to taxes paid by the power plant.

Salida is an unincorporated community in Becker Township, Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States. The community is near the junction of U.S. Highway 10 and Sherburne County Road 11. Nearby towns include Becker and Big Lake.

The Herbert M. Fox House is a pioneer farmhouse in Becker, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1876 with an unusual construction method using load-bearing vertical planks rather than wall studs. It originally stood in Santiago Township, was moved to Becker in 1981, and moved again in 2006 to the grounds of the Sherburne History Center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and exploration/settlement. It was nominated for being an example of early pioneer architecture in Minnesota, representing the houses of mid-19th-century subsistence farmers while displaying a rare vernacular construction method.

The Sherburne County Generating Station, also known as Sherco, is a large coal-fired power plant on the banks of the Mississippi River in Becker, Minnesota, which is in Sherburne County. Its three units have a combined capacity of 2,238 megawatts, making it the largest power plant in the state. In comparison, the single-unit Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant located less than four miles away has an output of 671 MW. The state's other nuclear power plant, the 2-unit Prairie Island facility, is rated at 1,096 MW, so Sherco has a larger peak output than those plants put together. The station uses 20,000 to 30,000 tons of coal per day. The BNSF Railway delivers up to three 115-car trains per day from mines in the Powder River Basin. In addition to generating electricity, some steam is also sent from the plant to a nearby paper plant, Liberty Paper Incorporated. The power plant has a normal staff of about 350 people, but up to 800 more employees are on site when the generating units are shut down and undergoing maintenance. The city borders of Becker extend around the plant, making the town heavily dependent on the plant for property tax revenue. The plant's annual $4 million property tax bill covers about 75% of the total for the city of about 4,600 people.The plant was initially constructed by Northern States Power Company (NSP), now a subsidiary of Xcel Energy. Units 1 and 2, which each have a capacity of 680 MW, came online in 1976 and 1977, respectively. The plant is still mostly owned by NSP/Xcel, although Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency has a 41 percent stake in the 876-MW Unit 3, which was built from 1983 to 1987 at a cost of about $1 billion.Unit 2 was shutdown on New Year's Eve in 2023.

Minnesota's 6th congressional district includes most or all of Benton, Carver, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright, and Anoka counties. Many of the Twin Cities' outer northern and western suburbs are included within the boundaries of this district, such as Blaine (the district's largest city), Andover, Chaska, Ramsey, St. Michael-Albertville, Elk River, Chanhassen, Otsego, Lino Lakes, Buffalo, Ham Lake, Monticello, Waconia, Big Lake, East Bethel, and Victoria. The St. Cloud Area is the other major center of population for the district, including the cities of St. Cloud (the district's second-largest city), Sartell, Sauk Rapids and Waite Park. It is currently represented by Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.

Sherburne County is a county in Central Minnesota. At the 2020 census, the population was 97,183. The county seat is Elk River.Sherburne County is included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant is a nuclear power plant located in Monticello, Minnesota, along the Mississippi River. The site, which began operating in 1971, has a single nuclear reactor (boiling water reactor) of the General Electric BWR-3 design generating 671 MWe. The reactor was originally licensed until 2010; a renewal license issued in 2006 allows it to continue operating until September 8, 2030.The plant is owned by Xcel Energy and operated by Northern States Power, its regional subsidiary.

Monticello Field is a former airport and military airfield in Big Lake Township, Minnesota, United States, approximately a mile northeast of Monticello. It is inactive.

Monticello ( MON-tih-SEL-oh) is a city next to the Mississippi River in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,455 at the 2020 census.

Enfield is an unincorporated community in Silver Creek Township, Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located along Wright County Road 75 near Clementa Avenue NW. Nearby places include Hasty, Clearwater, and Monticello. Interstate 94 is nearby.

The Saint Francis River is a 79.0-mile-long (127.1 km) tributary of the Elk River in east-central Minnesota in the United States. Via the Elk River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area historically characterized by mixed hardwood and coniferous forests on flat to rolling till plains.The St. Francis River rises in Alberta Township in northeastern Benton County, and flows generally southwardly through eastern Benton County, passing to the east of Foley and collecting a minor tributary known as the West Branch St. Francis River. The river turns eastward in northern Sherburne County, and flows south- and southwestwardly through the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge and Sand Dunes State Forest. It joins the Elk River in Big Lake Township in southern Sherburne County, approximately one mile (2 km) north of the city of Big Lake. Canoeing is possible on some stretches of the river during periods of high water.

The Nicherson–Tarbox House is a historic house in Monticello, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1889 in a blend Queen Anne and Shingle Style architecture. A barn was moved to the rear of the lot around the turn of the 20th century to serve as a carriage house, now a detached garage. The property, which contained a second outbuilding that is no longer extant, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as the Nicherson–Tarbox House, Shed and Barn for having local significance in the theme of architecture. It was nominated for being a prominent and well-preserved example of Queen Anne and Shingle Style architecture in Monticello.